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Latest News
Latest News
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Tuesday, 24 August 2010 18:36 |
In a somewhat surprising move, Blackpool Brush Railcoach 632 has become the latest tram to be fitted with transponder eq uipment so that it can activate the traffic control system recently installed at Little Bispham. I say surprising, because this makes 632 the first tram that was not fitted with low-voltage equipment to receive transponders; the tram has been fitted with a small inverter specially to power the new device. Otherwise the car is unchanged and retains its old-style bulb headlights. This means that 632 can now operate over the entire tramway, which will hopefully lead to an increase in use for the tram, which is owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust and sponsored by the Blackpool Tram Shop whose adverts are displayed on its roof boxes.
It is presumed that the decision to fit transponders to 632 has been made due to the departure of sister car 626, which left BTS one single deck car down. Indeed, the equipment installed in car 632 may well have come from 626 although this isn't known for definite. The tram was taken out for its first run to test its new equipment on the morning of August 24th, entering service later the same day.
Photo by Tony Waddington.
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Sunday, 22 August 2010 19:02 |
 Further information is now available regarding the departure of Blackpool Brush Railcoach 626 for a new home at Birkenhead, which took place on Thursday 19th August. The tram left Blackpool at lunchtime and arrived at Birkenhead later the same day. There, it was shunted into the Pacific Road shed which is located approximately halfway along the tram line, as opposed to the main tram depot and museum at Taylor Street, where the preserved fleet belonging to the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society are housed. Unfortunately, 626 is likely to remain there for the time being and is therefore not expected to participate in an upcoming 'all trams out' event at Birkenhead which is taking place on Bank Holiday Monday, August 30th. This is because the car is owned by Merseytravel, whose takeover of the tramway has been delayed considerably. Hopefully the ownership transfer will be completed during the autumn, and we hope to see 626 running there in the near future.
Incidentally, 626's last run in Blackpool took place on Tuesday 17th August, when appropriately enough it was driven by an MTPS member! We are grateful to Mike Mercer for providing the accompanying photo of the tram at Ash Street Fleetwood during its final day out; more pictures of 626's last run will appear in a future issue of Tramways Monthly.
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Last Updated on Monday, 23 August 2010 18:04 |
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Thursday, 19 August 2010 19:16 |
The week commencing 16th August was an extremely busy and exciting time for the Blackpool tramway, with no less than three trams moving by road either to or from Blackpool Transport's premises at Rigby Road - surely some sort of record for modern times? Following on from the arrival of Oporto 273 earlier in the week, Standard 143 then arrived late at night on Wednesday 18th August. The tram has been undergoing a major restoration at the Lancastrian Transport Trust's Brinwell Road workshop over the last few years, and has finally reached the latter stages of its reconstruction.
The process of returning 143 to its former home was anything but straightforward, as first its bogies - which have been refurbished in Blackpool Transport's Fitting Shop - had to be taken back to Brinwell Road to be reunited with the car body. 143 also had to be moved away from its long-term resting place to the depot doors, a process which took several hours. Once it had been lifted and then lowered back onto its bogies, the tram was then placed on a low loader and driven to Rigby Road, where it was unloaded by 11:00am the next morning. Despite now being on-site, there is still some work left to finish before 143 returns to service; most notably the completion of the upper deck which has no end panels as yet. No definite date has been set for its return, although it is booked to work three tours during the forthcoming 125th anniversary week, the first of which is scheduled f or 24th September.
Once 143 was unloaded, the team from Scott's Heavy Haulage who had moved the tram turned their attentions to Brush car 626, which was placed on the same vehicle and duly left Blackpool after midday. This tram has been purchased by Merseytravel for use on the Birkenhead tramway, although we are not yet sure if it has gone straight to Birkenhead as it had previously been suggested that it may be stored elsewhere initially, and that it may also receive some restoration work. The move of 626 has left many tram enthusiasts in shock, partly because it was the first of three Brush cars to be fully rebuilt in the 1990s, but mainly because it was only repainted earlier this year after spending nearly 18 months in storage. Being fitted with low-voltage equipment and transponders, 626 had been chosen to replace car 623 as the first choice car for Tram Driving Experiences, although it seems to have been used more for normal driver training and passenger service since its comeback. 626 last ran in Blackpool on 17th August on training duties, and it's hard to believe that just two days later the tram has gone! The above photo shows the tram, with L plates fitted, earlier this year and was supplied by Scott Moore.Â
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Thursday, 19 August 2010 19:00 |
 The morning of Wednesday 18th August saw a strange-looking double-deck tramcar make its first appearance on the Blackpool promenade, giving a small taste of the tramway's future. The tram in question was Balloon 720, which has received an extensive rebuild. Most notably, 720 is the first tram to have widened centre platforms, making it compatable with the new platforms being constructed at various tram stops in order to make the trams more accessible to all. The tram has been stored in the depot for many months despite being able to move around under power, but with a serious effort being made to get more high-capacity trams commissioned in time for the illuminations period, the decision has now been made to put 720 into service. This first run saw the tram run to Cleveleys for clearance testing, which is believed to have gone well. The tram has received silver fleet numbers and the company address on its exterior, which suggests that it will probably be staying in its plain white livery for the time being.
Prior to this test run, 720 had not operated since it was withdrawn part-way through the 2006 illuminations, when it carried a black advert livery for the Pleasure Beach Eclipse show. It was previously thought that the tram would have to wait until 2011 to run because of concerns as to whether the widened cars would be able to pass at North Pier where the tracks have not yet been re-aligned; however, as 720 is the only car to have the modifications completed so far, passing another widened Balloon will not be an issue! Apart from the centre porches and plug doors, the tram resembles sister car 713 with its modern skirt and bumper design.
We are delighted to bring you this exclusive photo of 720 at Little Bispham during its first ever outing since being rebuilt, and we are extremely grateful to Paul Wilkinson for sending it in and allowing us to share it with our readers.
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News -
July 2010 News
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Wednesday, 18 August 2010 21:01 |
 Following an incident involving Johannesburg 60 on Monday 16th August, there have been a number of changes to the plans regarding trams going to Blackpool on loan for the tramway's 125th anniversary celebrations which take place next month.
Johannesburg 60 was en route to Blackpool on Monday when, shortly after leaving Crich, it became damaged after coming into contact with overhanging tree branches. Although the damage was thankfully not too severe, it was decided not to continue with the journey and the tram was subsequently returned to Crich Tramway Village, where it is now awaiting repair.
Unfortunately, the problem with foliage has led to a major re-think in the Tramway Museum Society's plans to send five of their tramcars to Blackpool. Whilst two single-deckers are unaffected, it was felt too risky to send any double-deck cars, and so it is with regret that we must report that the planned loans of Blackpool 'Standard' 40 and Leeds 399, as well as car 60, have now been cancelled.
However, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining, and it is a great credit to the TMS that negotiations began almost immediately regarding potential replacements. It was then agreed to send Blackpool & Fleetwood 'Rack' 2 on loan, as this is of course a single-decker, and the tram is likely to move to the seaside town shortly. Unfortunately no other suitable passenger cars are currently serviceable at Crich, and an offer of both Cardiff water car 131 and Blackpool electric locomotive 717 was declined, as Blackpool Transport felt that there would be little point in borrowing works cars which would not bring in any revenue.
These changes now mean that three TMS trams will participate in the anniversary events. As reported elsewhere, Oporto 273 arrived in Blackpool on 16th August, and will be followed by Blackpool 167 and car 2 in due course. Incidentally, this will be Rack 2's first visit to Blackpool since 1998 when it returned home for a few weeks to help mark 100 years of trams running to Fleetwood. It seems that many enthusiasts are delighted that car 2 will be appearing as few ever expected the tram to run on its native system again, and the open-sided tram is likely to be an unexpected star of the show - indeed, as it was built in 1898, it will actually be the oldest car present!
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 21:31 |
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Wednesday, 18 August 2010 20:47 |
Around two months after Manchester 765 touched down on Blackpool tracks, the second visiting tramcar for the 125th anniversary celebrations in Blackpool has now arrived, in the shape of Oporto 273. However, this sentence does not e ven begin to describe what was one of the most bizarre tramcar move operations that has probably ever happened!
It all started on the morning of Monday 16th August, when workshop team at Crich Tramway Village assisted with loading Johannesburg 60 onto a low loader provided by Scott's Heavy Haulage. The tram had been selected as the first car from Crich to move to Blackpool on loan ready for the September events, and had already had its lifeguards and platform gates removed ready for the journey. The tram left the Museum at approximately midday, but soon ran into trouble when it made contact with some low-hanging tree branches after travelling for just a few miles. The team from Scott's wisely stopped the lorry, and a decision was made to abandon the move to ensure that car 60 did not sustain any further damage. The tram was therefore returned to Crich, complete with some body damage including two broken windows, where it was unloaded and returned to the depot yard.
As Oporto 273 was also ready to be moved, it was decided to introduce a 'Plan B' and take it to Blackpool instead, so the car was duly loaded in the street - needless to say this whole process created a great deal of interest amongst visitors! Being a single-decker, 273 had an uneventful journey and arrived safely at Blackpool that night, being unloaded on Blundell Street the following morning. The tram will now await preparation for service, as well as further crew familiarisation, before it plays its part in the upcoming events. This Portugese tramcar - which has several very unusual features such as sliding windows and ratten seats - is sure to be an eye-catching sight on the promenade and is expected to prove very popular with visitors.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 21:33 |
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Saturday, 14 August 2010 12:02 |
 Preparations for the loan of five trams from the National Tramway Museum collection at Crich to Blackpool for the tramway's 125th anniversary bash next month are now well underway, with work in progress to ensure that trams and staff alike are ready for their arrival and safe operation along the Fylde coastline.
Volunteers from Crich have visited Blackpool on a couple of occasions recently to be familiarised with the route between Pleasure Beach and Bispham; this is presumably so that they can assist with running their own cars whilst they are in Blackpool. Manchester 765 has been used for this purpose, probably due to it being a handbraked car.
On Friday 13th August, a team from Blackpool Transport visited Crich to view progress on the trams that will be visiting, and also to gain some experience in driving the cars, with both Johannesburg 60 and Oporto 273 out on training runs. Some other work has also been ongoing in the workshop; both Blackpool Standard 40 and Jo'burg 60 have had their swivel trolley heads temporarily replaced with fixed heads, as the former are not compatable with Blackpool's overhead wires. Car 60 has also had its lattice gates removed at each end. Minor alterations such as these will help to make the trams more suitable for use on a commercial tram system, but will also be easily reversed when they return home from their seaside adventures. The move of the first trams is likely to take place within the next few weeks, and needless to say, here at Tramways Monthly, we cannot wait!
Photo: Richard Lomas.
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Written by Andrew Waddington
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Wednesday, 11 August 2010 19:53 |
 The return to service of certain stored tramcars in Blackpool is continuing, with promising signs that at least two more cars are set to run in 2010, despite being omitted from the previously published list detailing the running fleet for this year.
On Friday 6th August, Twin Set 671+681 was spotted on a test/training run during the morning. The light green & yellow Metro liveried set were out again on both 10th & 11th August, again for crew training purposes. As the duo have not been fitted with transponders they were restricted to the Pleasure Beach to Bispham section on these occasions, but it is hoped that transponder equipment will be fitted so that they can operate along the whole tramway, as the availability of an extra high-capacity car for timetabled service would be extremely useful right now. The current tram allocation means that, in theory, all available Balloon, Millennium, Jubilee & Twin cars are supposed to run daily - unsurprisingly this hasn't happened, and Centenary cars running with two conductors on board have become a daily sight in recent weeks.
Going back to 671+681 for a moment; the pair last carried passengers way back in 2007, and duly became the first refurbished Twin set to be mothballed. It is still expected that this set and 673+683 will be put back into service for the latter part of the season although when this will happen is not yet clear. The other Metro liveried Twin car, 674+684, has not been mentioned and is thought to be stored in an unserviceable condition although this has never actually been confirmed.
More good news concerns Balloon 715 which finally entered the works for some remedial attention on August 11th. The tram will then receive a fresh coat of green & cream paint in the 1970s style al so carried by sister cars 702 (now on static display at Manchester) and 708 (stored at Rigby Road). Readers will recall that the Lancastrian Transport Trust, who now own 715, have funded this work by selling shares of ownership in this tram to enthusiasts, a scheme which proved very popular. We can now look forward to seeing this popular tram back in action during this year's illuminations, when it is likely to run most weekends as a welcome extra double-deck car during the tramway's busiest time of year.
Photos by Alan Robson (Set 1) and Tony Waddington (715).
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